Addressing the Mental Health Crisis
Teen mental well-being is at a 12-year low, with more depression, anxiety and hospital visits. The pandemic only exacerbated this issue causing learning loss and more anxiety. Our programs give students the opportunity to share questions and concerns about their lives, as well as their feelings, with a non-judgmental older adult.
Not only has smartphone usage contributed to an increase in teen mental health issues, but it has also impacted their ability to hold an authentic conversation. Conversation is the most human activity we do. It is the cornerstone for empathy. If our young adults do not know how long to hold eye contact or sustain a face-to-face conversation, how will they fare in the world? Sages & Seekers is an opportunity for teens to practice holding a conversation, a skill they will need throughout their lives.
Not only has smartphone usage contributed to an increase in teen mental health issues, but it has also impacted their ability to hold an authentic conversation. Conversation is the most human activity we do. It is the cornerstone for empathy. If our young adults do not know how long to hold eye contact or sustain a face-to-face conversation, how will they fare in the world? Sages & Seekers is an opportunity for teens to practice holding a conversation, a skill they will need throughout their lives.
High Schools
Sages & Seekers is an evidence-based, experiential learning program that cultivates valuable social-emotional skills, such as respect, empathy, social intelligence, gratitude, optimism, and curiosity. Students develop an awareness of age-related discrimination and a greater appreciation of the elderly and their legacies. Our program provides students with a forum where they learn to overcome biases about a group of seemingly different people, teaching them how to connect and find commonalities. Sages & Seekers reinforces schools’ DEIB initiatives as it lays the groundwork for positive futures in a diverse world.
Sages & Seekers has been implemented across the country in private & public schools, universities, local senior centers, and youth-serving agencies. Our virtual program has international reach, engaging participants in countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, and Australia. Our 8-week program can be integrated into a class curriculum, such as English, history, humanities, or creative writing, or offered as an extracurricular club or as a way for students to fulfill their community service requirement.
The benefits of our program include both academic and social-emotional skill building:
Sages & Seekers has been implemented across the country in private & public schools, universities, local senior centers, and youth-serving agencies. Our virtual program has international reach, engaging participants in countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, and Australia. Our 8-week program can be integrated into a class curriculum, such as English, history, humanities, or creative writing, or offered as an extracurricular club or as a way for students to fulfill their community service requirement.
The benefits of our program include both academic and social-emotional skill building:
Empathy
Our one-to-one approach engages students in a thoughtful examination of how life is lived and how personal challenges are overcome. The stories shared by their "Sage" allow each student to view life from another perspective. |
Social-Emotional Intelligence
Our program teaches tech-centric teens that the most powerful life lessons are conveyed through 1:1 engagement. Students learn how to initiate & sustain meaningful conversations, maintain eye contact, and interpret facial cues. |
Listening
Today's teens are more comfortable "posting" than truly communicating. Effective listening means paying attention to the story, how it is told, the use of voice, words & body language, and noticing inconsistencies between verbal and non-verbal messages. |
Interviewing
Interviewing is a skill that enhances the student's ability to discover more about life lessons by digging deeper into an issue. This enables them to learn more about people and encourages self-reflection. |
Writing
Each student must write a 750-word essay about the impact of their Sage's life on their own life. They must extrapolate the lessons shared with them, reflecting on the hardships their Sage has encountered. |
Public Speaking
Students read their Sage Tribute to the entire program community. Many students have overcome public speaking fears because of respect for their Sage, and a desire to share their Sage's life with their peers. |
Featured Partner Schools
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The Rivers School in Weston, MA offered its first Sages & Seekers on campus in 2010. The school saw the impact this intergenerational program had on its students and the school community at large. Rivers School licensed the Sages & Seekers curriculum, and since 2016 all 10th graders have participated in the program as a required part of their English class. Mac Caplan, the school's English Department Chair, discusses the impact of the program here.
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Sages & Seekers partnered with Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, CA for a unique program. Students in Innovation through Empathy, a STEAM class, participated in Sages & Seekers' 8-week program during the fall semester. Based on those conversations and the challenges they learned that older adults face, students created products that addressed their needs. Sages served as consultants throughout the winter and spring semesters and attended the final student product presentations as honored guests.
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High schools who utilized Sages & Seekers' programs on their campuses have included:
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Massachusetts
Concord Academy, Concord Dana Hall, Wellesley International School of Boston, Cambridge Keefe Technical School, Framingham Natick High School, Natick Needham High School, Needham Nobles & Greenough, Dedham Rivers School, Weston Walnut Hill School, Natick Wayland High School, Wayland |
California
Blair High School, Pasadena Fairfax High School, Los Angeles John Marshall High School, Los Angeles Larchmont Charter School, Los Angeles Notre Dame High School, Sherman Oaks Palisades Charter High School, Pacific Palisades PUC CALS, Los Angeles PUC eCALS , Los Angeles |
Universities
The Sages & Seekers program has been offered on college campuses throughout the country, including UCLA, Brandeis, University of Southern California, and Vanderbilt. Our program is offered as course requirement or extracurricular for students looking to build their resumes. Our program attracts students who are pursuing careers where they will be working with older adults, such as those majoring in gerontology, medicine, nursing, social work, psychology, physical therapy, or occupational therapy. Students across all areas of study realize the benefits of Sages & Seekers as our program prepares them for their careers-- they will enter a multi-generational workforce where they will need to collaborate with all age groups.
University students participate in the Sages & Seekers 8-week signature program or our Cross-Generational Problem Solving course, which addresses important societal issues like climate change, homelessness or systemic ageism.
University students participate in the Sages & Seekers 8-week signature program or our Cross-Generational Problem Solving course, which addresses important societal issues like climate change, homelessness or systemic ageism.
Featured University
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Sages & Seekers has partnered with UCLA for several years. In Winter 2023, 64 first year students enrolled in the Frontiers of Human Aging course participated in our 8-week signature and cross-generational problem solving online programs. Students were also required to complete supplemental assignments-- create videos or presentations that discussed the impact of Sages & Seekers or write a research paper about the benefits of cross-generational problem solving.
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